New Delhi (NVI): As coronovirus continues to spread across the globe, the pandemic has also increased the risk of cyber attacks, according to World Economic Forum (WEF).
An emergency like this could cause people opening the door to cyber criminals. “In a crisis situation, particularly if prolonged, people tend to make mistakes they would not have made otherwise,” it explained.
Additionally, spending more time online could increase the risks that internet users face. “Inadvertently risky Internet behavior increases with more time spent online,” the WEF said.
Internet has almost instantly become the channel for effective human interaction and the primary way we work, contact and support one another.
A cyber attack that deprives organizations or families of access to their devices, data or the internet could be devastating.
With the world battling to contain the coronavirus outbreak, a cyber attack could wreak real destruction.
“In a worst case scenario, broad-based cyber attacks could cause widespread infrastructure failures that take entire communities or cities offline, obstructing healthcare providers, public systems and networks,” WEF said.
Debbie Gordon, CEO of cybersecurity specialist Cloud Range Cyber said, “Now more than ever, people need to be even more aware of fraud emails, especially ones that refer to COVID-19 in any form or fashion whether it’s a cure, reports of cases, or really anything that would make people very curious”.
The majority of cyber attacks – by some estimates, 98% – deploy social engineering methods. Cybercriminals are extremely creative in devising new ways to exploit users and technology.
The firms also need to be extra alert. They have to be even more proactive in detecting threats and looking at abnormality in their systems given that the hackers are aware that people are scrambling and can have their attention focused somewhere else.
There has already been evidence of the threats that cyber attackers pose during the coronavirus crisis. As the U.S. ramped up its efforts to control the outbreak, a cyber attack recently hit the Department of Health and Human Services.
